Farai Mabeza, Senior Staff Writer 
UNIFREIGHT Africa exceeded both its budgeted and prior comparable period revenue performance in the third quarter of 2021, despite a challenging trading environment.
In a trading update last week, the logistics company said total tonnage hauled during the period was ahead of budget by 3,8 percent and 28 percent higher than what was achieved during the prior comparable period.
In historical terms, the company said its ZWL sales were up by 47 percent in the prior year and five percent ahead of budget.
“Despite an increase in historical ZW$ sales, United States dollar (USD) inflation has been on the increase, resulting in reduced margins. However, the company remains profitable as profit margins are above industry norms.”
The company said key performance indicators were moving in the appropriate direction through improving yields and improved fuel consumption levels attributed to investment in a new fleet.
“Careful management of labour cost per tonne and overall improvement in cost controls gives the board confidence that the business is on a sustainable trajectory,” it said.
Fuel is the most critical requirement for Unifreight’s core operation, with the company promising to deliver customers’ freight parcels countrywide within 48 hours.
“Its (Unifreight’s) promise to customers is premised on the availability of fuel on a consistent basis without vehicles spending productive time in fuel queues.
“The availability of fuel priced in ZWL has diminished and has become a scarce commodity, with most suppliers selling their product in US$.”
The company said it would continue to engage various stakeholders in an effort to find a lasting solution to this challenge.
“The board, executive and management are focusing on what can be controlled and continue to search for pockets of opportunity that have been created whilst being extremely cognisant of protecting shareholder value.
“The board is grateful that Unifreight’s robust yet flexible business model with a diverse customer base has kept the group going through very difficult times.” In its annual report for 2020, the group reported revenue growth of 94 percent to $1,5 billion.
